Beats Pill review: A revival worth the wait

When Beats discontinued the Pill+ in early 2022, the company seemed to be done with portable Bluetooth speakers. At that point, it hadn’t debuted a new model in over six years, which is a far cry from the release schedule we’re accustomed to from Beats. But, to the surprise of many, the company has re-entered the crowded market with a redesigned Pill ($150). Taking more aesthetic cues from its older models instead of the most recent Pill+, the company sought a cure by completely re-engineered the inside of the device to improve sound quality. It also made the new Pill more rugged along the way, while doubling the battery life and adding modern features like lossless audio, remedying what ailed the previous aging model.

A prescription for better sound

While there are some visible changes, Beats did most of its overhaul on the inside of the new Pill. Most importantly, the company ditched the dual tweeter and dual woofer setup from the Pill+ in favor of a new design that only uses one of each. A larger, more powerful pill-shaped woofer provides more robust bass with less total harmonic distortion (THD) and a lower frequency range.

That single tweeter has been upgraded, too. The driver for mid-range and treble sits in its own housing and has a larger rear cavity. Beats says this setup decreases the crossover responsibilities for the tweeter and woofer in covering the Pill’s full sonic range. As a result, the two components work more efficiently as the tweeter is only tasked with mids and highs while the woofer cranks out the bass.

Another item Beats added on the new Pill is lossless audio over USB-C. The speaker can handle higher-quality tunes up to 24-bit/48kHz via a wired connection. This is my favorite way to listen to the Pill as the audio is more immersive with better clarity. Billy Strings’ Live Vol. 1 in Hi-Res Lossless on Apple Music is noticeably improved over listening via Bluetooth, for example. Of course, the speaker will also charge in this scenario since you’re physically connected to the laptop or whichever device it’s streaming from.

Billy Steele for Engadget

All of this creates much-improved sound quality on the new Pill. The Pill+ was no slouch by 2015 standards, but portable Bluetooth speakers have come a long way in nine years. The rebuild under the hood provides great clarity with punchy highs, full mids and booming bass for much of the volume range. At maximum loudness though, things are more of a jumbled mess as the speaker can’t maintain the crisp, clear detail it offers at around 85 percent and below.

For Balance and Composure’s “Cross To Bear,” the Pill accurately replicates the snappy kick drum and snare combo with the droning bass line over top. Guitars weave through in a layered fashion and the vocals cut clean in the mix. The low-end tone provides depth to this alternative rock track that many speakers this size can’t. The Pill also does a respectable job with boomy hip-hop songs from Run The Jewels and Kaytranada, although the speaker does start to struggle when the bass is super deep, like on RTJ4’s “Out Of Sight.” The tone isn’t as clean as most other songs I tested from the genre.

Amplify and Stereo modes return from the Pill+ to expand the capabilities of the Pill – if you have two of them. The first simply offers bigger, louder sound since you’re using the power of two speakers. The second creates a true stereo pair with dedicated left and right channels. Both work well, but if you’re only using the onboard controls to activate Stereo mode, you have to remember to join the speakers in Amplify mode first. There’s no option in the iOS settings to do this, but you can activate the modes inside the standalone Beats app for Android.

The Beats Pill’s design

Billy Steele for Engadget

One visible design change is the drivers now sit at a 20-degree angle. Beats says it did this to improve sound projection and it delivered. The new Pill does a better job of beaming audio in the direction of your ears when it’s sitting on a shelf or a table, rather than just blasting it straight out the front. I was especially struck by how well the Pill projects low-end tone on boomy hip-hop and electronic tracks.

Four buttons line the top of the Pill for a complete suite of physical controls. The power button, which is on the left, also handles pairing, battery status, voice assistant, USB-C audio and reversing the charging direction. In the middle, the redundantly named Center button offers the media controls while also playing a role in activating Amplify and Stereo modes. And on the right sit the two volume buttons. These are all dimpled circle buttons that work reliably and are easy to find by touch.

The new Pill is also built for the great outdoors. Beats engineered this speaker with IP67-rated dust and water resistance, while the Pill+ didn’t have an IP rating at all. This number means the Pill is fully dust tight and can survive full immersion up to 30 minutes in depths of one meter (just over three feet). That’s plenty of protection for a day at the beach or the pool without having to worry about terminal damage. Beats also included a loop strap that attaches to the end of the speaker for easy carrying or hanging up the unit.

The Beats Pill as a speakerphone

Something Beats is hyping on the new Pill is the ability to use it as a speakerphone. This functionality has been available on Bluetooth speakers before, but the company says its combination of a noise-learning algorithm and full duplex capability (both sides can hear clearly without being cut off) leads to a better experience. I found this to be true during my testing as the Pill sounds much better than most earbuds in quiet spaces. The audio quality on calls suffers when the speaker is trying to battle background noise; however, it’s still your voice that comes through clearly rather than a loud fan or some other distraction.

Battery life

Beats says the new Pill will last up to 24 hours on a charge, which is ample power for a few days. During my testing, I noticed that the speaker could actually muster more. It might be because I kept volumes around 35 to 40 percent most of the time, since the Pill is really loud at 50 percent. After 14 hours of listening to music on both my laptop and iPhone, I still have 70 percent battery left.

If you do find yourself in a pinch, the Pill is equipped with Beats’ Fast Fuel feature that gives you two hours of use by plugging in for 10 minutes. What’s more, the speaker will charge while connected to another device, like your laptop, via a USB-C cable. The Pill has a charge-out feature that can top up your phone or other small devices too, and you can reverse the charging direction with a triple tap on the power button.

The competition

There are so many alternatives to the Beats Pill, with plenty of them available for $100 or less. I would recommend reading our in-depth guide on the best bluetooth speakers that has some suggestions as well as what to look for when you’re shopping. I will point out the JBL Charge 5 from that list, primarily due to its sound quality. It’s just as durable as the Pill and you can use two for a stereo setup or sync it with any PartyBoost-enabled JBL devices. The Charge 5 also has up to 20 hours of battery life and a built-in power bank to top off your phone, making it a great deal at under $150.

Wrap-up

I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t have a new Beats speaker on my 2024 Bingo card. But, I’ll also be quick to confess that I enjoyed my time with the new Pill, mostly due to its much-improved sound quality. Doubled battery life, lossless audio over USB-C and a more rugged build set the Pill up to compete with popular models from Ultimate Ears, JBL and others. Plus, Beats took a chunk out of the price, making this new model a much more palatable offering at $150. While the audio isn’t as good at extreme volumes and the bass tone isn’t as consistent on some tracks, overall audio quality is the best aspect of the Pill. And that makes it a solid addition to your music regimen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beats-pill-review-a-revival-worth-the-wait-160056269.html?src=rss